Working my way through Halo. Which is also probably the first FPS where I actually like shotguns and can use them effectively._________________

Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:10 pm

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Mara Jade SkywalkerAdministrator

Joined: 15 Feb 2008Posts: 6205Location: Beyond Shadows

A Halo convert! Yay! It is one of my favorite FPS franchises. The stories are what get me. If you haven't read the books, read them! But read them in the correct order with the games, so that you don't spoil anything. I can give you a recommended order, if you're interested. _________________"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:06 pm

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Salaris VornModerator

Joined: 02 Feb 2008Posts: 2335Location: New York, USA

I would very much like to read them. Sadly I already have a dozen or so novels stacked waiting to be read so I don't think I'd be able to get to the Halo novels any time soon. (Having to read upwards of a 150 books, most of them in the space of 4-6 months, for doctoral exams tends to kill your willingness to read anything you don't have to)._________________

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:47 pm

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Dog-Poop_WalkerMaster

Joined: 28 Jan 2012Posts: 1481Location: Soul of Cinder

Salaris Vorn wrote:

Working my way through Halo. Which is also probably the first FPS where I actually like shotguns and can use them effectively.

That's odd, I recall all the FPS I've played that had viable shotguns: Doom, Golden Eye, Half Life and Fear.

Especially Fear. Going duke nukem slow mo and blowing guys legs off. _________________The spirit can die when the force that's crushing it is great enough. By raining bullets down on the silent faces, already turned away from the world, you thought you could destroy the face of our truth. But we have faith in a different force. That hopeless hope is what sustains us now. My comrades are more numerous than your bullets, and more patient than your executioners.

Finished my playthrough of the Assassin's Creed games, and now playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist. I'm cautiously optimistic about this, despite Conviction. Not least because I can actually knock out enemies, rather than just shoot them._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:08 am

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papinachoPadawan

Joined: 01 Jul 2014Posts: 29

My life is currently being consumed by Pokemon Online.

Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:37 am

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1943Location: Ontario, Canada

I've been digging watching Let's Play videos. There's some really good ones on youtube, like Hankgames, GetDaved, WhyCalibur, etc. Does anyone know of any other good ones?

I like it when the personality of the player comes through. My wife and I watched a great Let's Play by GetDaved, where he played through the new Mario game for the Wii U. For the final bonus level, he edited the video DOWN to 53 minutes, keeping in any scene where he got further than before, and keeping ALL of the deaths (of which there were like 300). Good times.

I'm currently watching GetDaved and WhyCalibur play KOTOR II. That's a lot of fun as well._________________"I'm...from Earth."

Working my way through Halo. Which is also probably the first FPS where I actually like shotguns and can use them effectively.

That's odd, I recall all the FPS I've played that had viable shotguns: Doom, Golden Eye, Half Life and Fear.

Especially Fear. Going duke nukem slow mo and blowing guys legs off.

I think it usually ended up being more user error than poor weapon design. Primarily I think due to not having the best judgment of distance so I'd usually end up firing just outside of it's effective range. I also had the tendency to be overly careful in lining up shots with non-automatic weapons which works fine with sniper rifles but less so with close quarters weapons. I think my aim has gotten better over the years so it's less of a problem.

Probably why I prefer using assault rifles or LMGs in most FPS games._________________

Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:41 pm

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YodaBauer2442Master

Joined: 06 Apr 2011Posts: 561Location: Sofa

YodaBauer2442 wrote:

I'm playing BioShock for the first time.

And I just beat BioShock for the first time.

Holy crap that was an amazing game! What a story. What a story._________________"To understand what happened at the diner, we use Mr. Papaya. This is upsetting because he is the friendliest of fruits. " Dr. Walter Bishop

"WHERE'S THE FIRE?! I've always loved that expression, which is curious since my lab assistant was killed in a fire."
- Walter Bishop

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:21 pm

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Salaris VornModerator

Joined: 02 Feb 2008Posts: 2335Location: New York, USA

So I've discovered a part of Halo that is driving me mad: on my way to the third pilon thing (that you short out with your armor's shield by stepping into it to prevent Halo from firing) there is this group of Covenant that are holding out against the flood with 2 tanks and 2 hunters. I succeed in taking out the tanks but inevitably the hunters snipe me (there are so many Elites, grunts, and everyone else that you can't really engage the hunters until you clear them out). Got so bad I actually muted the audio cause i got sick of hearing the same music starting over and over again as I began combat.

I may have to reevaluate my tactics but I'll crack this!_________________

As a big fan of the first three (and somewhat of the fourth) games of the series, I'm probably being overly critical - but I do think it has a lot of flaws, which are worth mentioning, so I've tried to be as fair as possible. EDIT: Bahahahahahaha.

It felt like Splinter Cell. That's probably the best thing I can say about it. It looked great; the level design was really well thought out and was simply stunning. The use of darkness was well done and added to the overall tone and made the game feel ... I don't know the word. Moody? Tense? Edgy? That sounds right. As an example, the Guantanamo Bay level - at the beginning, at least - was the first time that the shadows felt right.

The gameplay, too, was done just right. The weapons were great, and felt like a natural progression. I even liked the upgrade buying system, though it did make the first few missions a little tricky. I even enjoyed the heavies, as it put more of a focus on planning to take them out. The stun gun, and later the crossbow, were excellent editions, and the gadgets, though not as expansive as the originals, were fairly well rounded, and contributed greatly to the playthrough - though I sometimes felt they some of them were superfluous - the cam and the drone thing. But the gameplay itself had one pretty major flaw: you could be seen in the dark.

Splinter Cell is a game series about sneaking through the dark. When enemies can see you, even from a distance that they should reasonably not be able to see you, they can see you. Even when it's pitch black and even the player can't see Fisher, they can see you. This was ... stupid. Just plain stupid. Sneaking around in the dark was even emphasised by the level design, so this is obviously something that the developers wanted the player to do, but it's a flaw that is just so mindnumblingly stupid that I wonder how it was even overlooked. Or worse, they decided that it was acceptable. It's not. I just - gah! This was the cool thing about the series. You could stand right next to someone and they would not see you. It was really cool, certainly, but also a main part of the gameplay, and they screwed it up.

But the stealth was made up of two components: hiding in the dark - and hiding behind things. Which also doesn't work. I don't really mind that, in and of itself - and ditto for the A and B button movement, which I felt was comfortingly similar to the Batman games (I think of Fisher as a government sanctioned mortal* Batman) - but they could still see you. If you just hid behind a block, they could see you, but if pressed B and Fisher moved half a foot sideways and down, they couldn't see you. I see no reason why they couldn't just do away with that minor difference, and have him be invisible just kneeling behind an object. Not to mention the sightlines; if an enemy was even at a slight angle to you, they could see you hiding behind a block. Hiding behind blocks, really, was only useful for an enemy directly in front of you, and for corner takedowns - mostly. It was more than a little bit irritating that these two elements of stealth were so flawed.

* I do know, of course, that the Batman is purely human and can die, but when I say mortal I mean that Fisher isn't a superhero. He isn't at that level of ability - very good at his job, yes, but not that good.

Another thing was the writing and acting. The story, for the most part, was quite solid. I liked the villain, he was pretty good, very compelling, and the actor was spot on. The last level, however, was just bad. 'Hi, Madame President, I'd like to discuss terms.' 'Certainly, evil terrorist who's just done more damage than any other attack has ever done ever in the history of ever, let me just invite you to my secret bunker, because my magic idiot ball says I must.' Aside from the ending, the story was quite strong, though because of the ending, it was ultimately a miss, because we didn't really get to explore much of his motivation and his desires, what he expected to get out of it, and worse, the one line of dialogue that hinted at it implies that it was a pointless secret grabbing mission. 'Hi, I'll do all this damage for a few secrets that will give me UNLIMITED POWER' because this worked out so well in the past.

While the story itself was good, when it came to the good guys, everything just fell so flat that Jar Jar seemed a compelling character. The team, under-utilised for the majority of the game, only got a few glimpses mid-mission, and at those times the writing was so clichéd that it would have been better if they had just died a horrible death (I tried killing them, but the game wouldn't let me). They were entirely two dimensional, no humanity, no depth (sorry for the tautology, but it bears repeating), absolutely nothing that made them worth screen-time. Absolutely nothing. And lastly, Fisher himself was no better. I just ... no. Nope. Not going to. He wasn't worth the effort of a rant.

And because I can't help myself, here's the rant: he was a spy who hated the things he did, but did them anyway because he knew the world would be worse off if he didn't. He often contemplated the morality of his actions, even as he did them, and even had a morbid humour about it, who was intelligent and would apply this often in his interrogations and discussions with his handler. New Fisher was just ... angry ... at something, and doing it for his friend, I guess? I seem to have put more thought into that sentence than the writers gave Fisher (Also, the Mill level was a good example of all that was wrong with his characterisation). Not to mention, Ironside - the actor who gave his voice - would provide a little something, often nothing more than a little inflection, that gave even the most ordinary of dialogue life (admittedly I may be hearing too much into it, though Ironside did seem to put more effort into his anger, with his seven layers of anger. The new actor just seemed to play base angry). Speaking of the new guy, for the most part he just sounded bored. He provided no such life, it was pretty much all exposition, until he got pissed at someone (often hypocritically).

I'll stop now. Rant definitely over. Not sorry at all.

EDIT the Second: Okay I really had intended to be more balanced. Just that, once I started on the problems, I couldn't stop. One more positive thing that I'll say about it: I want to play it again. I'd happily play it on its hardest level, trying for perfection. That's pretty much what I want out of a stealth game.

Now playing Batman: Arkham Origins._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Finished Arkham Origins. I quite enjoyed it. The gameplay was fairly solid (though I did miss the riddles) and the map was fun, but I particularly enjoyed the story. One minor gripe: I felt the Batman-Gordon bonding was too rushed; but beyond that I have thought it was very well executed.

Now playing Modern Warfare 3. One thing that was pretty cool: in the London level, I remembered using that TfL station, I remember going down that road. It was pretty surreal. Especially as, the time I went down that road there were some Morris dancers ._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:37 pm

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Salaris VornModerator

Joined: 02 Feb 2008Posts: 2335Location: New York, USA

I recently started playing War Thunder. I'd been missing my old Microsoft Combat Flight Sims and Secret Weapons Over Normandy so I thought I'd give it a try. So far been a lot of fun and Arcade Mode reminds me a lot of Secret Weapons although my skills from the days of X-Wing and Rogue Squadron have clearly lapsed._________________

Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:40 pm

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Mara Jade SkywalkerAdministrator

Joined: 15 Feb 2008Posts: 6205Location: Beyond Shadows

A fellow War Thunder player! My friend got me hooked on this game a couple months ago. You'll have to let me know your call sign so I can find you. _________________"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 12:27 am

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Salaris VornModerator

Joined: 02 Feb 2008Posts: 2335Location: New York, USA

my call sign is CPTApollo (bonus points if you get the reference). I run it through Steam so if you also it run it on Steam I can e-mail you my Steam name.

I recently brought out my old Sidewinder precision 2 joystick which has been collecting dust for years. I think after a week or so of using it I'm finally getting the hang of it again and getting my sights on target. Still need to work on my aerial gunnery skills and evasive maneuvers though haha._________________